Early Life

Steve Rogers' childhood

Steve Rogers was born July 4, 1922, to poor Irish immigrant parents, Sarah and Joseph Rogers[3], and grew up a frail youth during the Great Depression in America. Rogers' father died when he was a child and his mother died from pneumonia later, when he was in his late teens[4].

After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the Super-Soldier Serum. Given part of the compound intravenously and another part orally, Rogers was then bombarded by vita-rays, a special combination of exotic (in 1941) wavelengths of radiation designed to accelerate and stabilize the serum's effect on his body. Steve Rogers emerged from the vita-ray chamber with a perfect human body. A Nazi spy, who observed the experiment, murdered Dr. Erskine mere minutes after its conclusion. Dr. Erskine died without fully committing the Super-Soldier formula to paper, leaving Rogers the sole beneficiary of his genius.

Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program, that taught him gymnastics, hand-to-hand combat from Colonel Rex Applegate and William Essart Fairbairn, and military strategy. Three months later, he was given his first assignment: to stop the Nazi agent called the Red Skull. To help him become a symbolic counterpart to the Red Skull, Rogers was given the red, white, and blue costume of Captain America.[6] Rogers was also given the cover identity of a clumsy infantry private at Camp Lehigh.

Rogers in his original World War II uniform with gun holster

After successfully becoming Captain America, Rogers was later submitted to an experimental mind-conditioning program that conditioned his mind to accept false information in the chance he was captured by the enemy and forced to reveal classified information. As part of the conditioning, Rogers believed his real name to be Grant Rogers, that he had a brother, and that due to his parents being diplomats, he had a casual upper class appointment to the Army and Captain America position. It would not be until far later in life that Rogers would recall the conditioning and his true history[7].

Rogers was originally issued a traditionally shaped "kite" shield made of mundane steel, as well as a sidearm. Cap's original helmet served as a mask and was separate from the rest of his costume. This proved a problem as in one early outing it was nearly knocked from his face via the hard wing emblems, almost revealing his identity to an attending newspaper reporter with camera[4]. Adding a protective neck-plating hood to his costume, rather than his separate mask, solved this problem and afforded Rogers more protection. President F.D. Roosevelt later presented Rogers with his now-legendary disc-shaped shield. Discovering that its excellent aerodynamic properties made it an effective offensive weapon, Rogers abandoned his sidearm.

World War II Service

During the war, "Cap" served as both a symbol of freedom and America's most effective special operative. In addition to working with his young sidekick Bucky, Cap regularly fought alongside other Allied super-powered heroes such as Namor the Sub-Mariner and the android Human Torch, who were the recognized core of the World War II super-team known as the Invaders. Rogers sometimes came into contact with a Canadian paratrooper named Jim Howlett, (the man who would come to be known as Wolverine).

For a time, World War II Bucky fought alongside a time-displaced modern-era Captain America until the Avengers recovered their colleague to the present day.

Suspended Animation

During the final days of the war, on or before April 18, 1945[8], Captain America and Bucky were trying to stop a bomb-loaded drone-plane, launched by Baron Zemo, when the plane exploded, apparently killing his partner Bucky and throwing Rogers into icy Arctic waters of the English Channel. The Super-Soldier Formula prevented crystallization of Rogers' bodily fluid, allowing him to enter a state of suspended animation. Although Rogers and Bucky had seemingly perished, the war still raged on and U.S. presidents and the government picked different volunteers, such as William Naslund, Jeffrey Mace, and another Steve Rogers, over the years, to keep the morale alive, and even after World War II ended.

Avengers

Avengers Assemble

Decades later, Rogers' wartime comrade, the Sub-Mariner, stumbled across his still-frozen form, which was being worshiped by a far-flung Inuit tribe. Enraged, the Sub-Mariner threw the ice block into the ocean. While opposing Namor, the newly formed Avengers happened upon Rogers' thawing body and soon revived the legendary hero[9].

Rogers joined their ranks as the first recruit, since their formation, and was given retroactive "founding member" status in place of Hulk. With his superhuman abilities, extensive training, combat experience, combined with his impressive physique, confidence, and will, Rogers was an excellent addition to the team. As a born leader, Rogers would come to be seen as the heart and soul of the team and his commands, while in the field, were often looked to, regardless of who might have been chairman at the time. Rogers would teach teamwork, tactics, and hand-to-hand combat to many Avengers over the coming years.

Seeing that Avengers associate Rick Jones bore a resemblance to Bucky[9], Cap took him into tutelage[10], trying to recover from the great trauma of losing his wartime partner. After a time, Jones even convinced Rogers to let him wear Bucky's old costume and initiate a partnership, although Cap strongly opposed Rick joining the Avengers as a full member[11]. The early adventures Cap had with Earth's Mightiest Heroes included a run-in with his wartime foe Baron Heinrich Zemo. Zemo organized the first incarnation of the Masters of Evil, a group of super-villains who each bore a grudge against a particular Avenger[12]. After several skirmishes between the two groups[13][14][11], Zemo kidnapped Rick and Zemo was accidentally killed in a rockslide, caused by his own weaponry as he battled Cap[15].

At this point, the remaining founding Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man and the Wasp) decided to take a leave of absence from the stress of super-crime-fighting. Captain America was thus left to lead a new team comprised of Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver[16]. "Cap's Kooky Quartet" was at first regarded as less able than the previous lineup, but soon proved their worth by overcoming several threats including a resurgent Kang[17] as well as Doctor Doom[18]. While the hotheaded Quicksilver and Hawkeye were at first headstrong loose cannons, Rogers' leadership was able to mold them into valuable team members.

"Once more into the breach..."

When Cap took his first leave of absence from the team, it was the Black Panther who stepped in to take his place on the roster. Though when Cap discovered that one of T'Challa's motives was to "spy" on the Avengers (as part of his duties as King of Wakanda was to observe foreigners), relations between the two became strained and stayed that way for some time. Eventually, they restored the bonds of alliance and friendship, symbolized by Rogers giving T'Challa the enhanced copy of his World War II triangular shield he had used while his round one was broken.[19]

Meanwhile, Cap's old nemesis, the Red Skull, was brought out of suspended animation by the subversive organization THEM. The Skull feigned cooperation with THEM (actually the ruling council of HYDRA led by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker) long enough to steal the Cosmic Cube from subsidiary organization AIM. This led to the first postwar clash between the two great symbols of World War II. The Skull later impersonated Rogers and drove Rick away, while wielding the Cosmic Cube.

Rogers often crossed paths with another World War II veteran as well, this one an ally: Sergeant Nick Fury, of the Howling Commandos, whom he had met during the war[20], was now Colonel Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Captain America teamed with Fury many times after emerging from suspended animation and their relationship warmed and cooled over the years, depending on various circumstances. They often worked together towards the same goal(s) and the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. maintained a close working relationship, even sometimes sharing a common computer database. Rogers worked with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Agent 13 (Sharon Carter), sister to Peggy. Rogers would come to share a deep romantic relationship with Sharon, eventually admitting his love for her.[21]

In another plot by the Skull, a Cosmic Cube-empowered man named Sam Wilson attacked Rogers. Steve was able to break Wilson of the Skull's control and the two teamed together to defeat Cap's archenemy. Wilson became The Falcon and Steve's most reliable best friend. Cap and the Falcon would share an active partnership for a long time[22]. Wilson actively succeeded Rogers as Captain America, when Rogers was badly injured and was encouraged to continue on in the role by Rogers himself. Despite the encouragement, Wilson returned the role upon Rogers' recovery.

One of Rogers' and Wilson's most noted battles was against one of Rogers' earlier successors, Steve Rogers, and Jack Monroe, calling himself Bucky. Rogers was shaken at the fact that he could have shared his excessively conservative successor's fate, if not for the technical dedication of Dr. Erskine and his Vita Ray process.[23]

Nomad

While investigating the subversive organization known as the Secret Empire Rogers discovered that its leader was a high-ranking government official. While this traitor committed suicide after being discovered, the government covered up the whole affair by using a double. Disillusioned, Rogers abandoned his Captain America identity and took up the alias "Nomad."[24] Two men tried in vain to assume the Captain America title; Bob Russo and "Scar" Turpin, while in the meantime the young idealistic Cap fan, Roscoe Simons, actually succeeded Rogers and Rogers himself awarded Simons his indestructible shield. It was Roscoe's death, at the hands of the Red Skull, that would inspire Rogers to become the "Sentinel of Liberty", a symbol of American inspired ideals rather than the US Government Super Soldier he once was. In a graphic bit of scenery, Roscoe was crucified and tortured by the Red Skull, as a message to Rogers that any other person in the costume would also suffer the same fate, if the Red Skull encountered any of the "fake" Captain Americas. Rogers re-assumed his classic costumed identity and shield[25] and a rehabilitated Monroe joined Cap in a partnership, himself assuming the Nomad identity in a modified costume.[26] Following a battle with Viper, Rogers' Super-Soldier Serum reacted with the venom in her whip, temporarily granting him superhuman strength.[27]

When Avengers Mansion was attacked and conquered by the Masters of Evil, under the leadership of Baron Helmut Zemo, Captain America was specifically targeted by Zemo, to avenge his father's death. Rogers was captured, during an attempt to retake the mansion and was forced to watch, as Mister Hyde tortured helpless butler Edwin Jarvis. The Masters proceeded to destroy a treasure trove of Rogers' memorabilia, including a picture with Bucky taken just before he was killed, Rogers' only picture of his mother, a baseball signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and Cap's original triangular shield. In the final battle, Cap defeated The Wrecker, with the aid of the Wasp, and defeated Baron Zemo in a rooftop duel. As Zemo fell, Cap tried to grab his hand and, though he was later revealed to have survived the fall, Zemo refused such charity[28].

The Captain

Captain America becomes The Captain

Captain America continued to come into conflict with many foes, including the extreme anti-nationalist Flag-Smasher and the vigilante called The Scourge of the Underworld. Rogers was informed by the Commission on Superhuman Activities that he had never been officially discharged from the U.S. Army, and for this, he received a large back-pay, dating to the end of World War II, which he used to establish a nation-wide hot-line service to help him keep abreast of criminal activities. However, the Commission demanded that Rogers, as an "active" member of the armed forces, resume service as a government-directed operative. Finding himself unable to merely follow orders as a simple soldier any longer, especially after the events of the government that led to him becoming Nomad, Rogers again resigned the Captain America identity, even surrendering his legendary shield to the new Captain America, John Walker, who had previously clashed with Rogers as the "Super-Patriot".[29] During this time, Rogers used an Adamantium shield and, adopting a new costume, continued adventuring as "The Captain"[30].

Not long afterward, the Avengers were temporarily disbanded, due to a lack of active members. As The Captain, Rogers led a new lineup of the Avengers consisting of Thor, Gilgamesh, and temporary recruits Reed (Mr. Fantastic) and Sue Richards (Invisible Woman) of the Fantastic Four. Reed himself was accustomed to leading, however, and there were some conflicts of leadership between the two.

The Captain also led an unnamed, unofficial team during the same period that accompanied him on several missions. Along with The Falcon and Nomad, the group at times included Demolition-Man, who had assisted Rogers against Power Broker, Inc., and Vagabond, a tag-along of Nomad's.

It would later be discovered that the Red Skull was manipulating the Commission. The Captain and Nomad clashed with Walker and his Bucky. Resolving their differences, Rogers and Walker confronted the Skull[31]. Following the events and deeds that Walker had done while Captain America, Walker resigned from being Captain America and the Commission asked Rogers to take-up the mantle again. Rogers initially refused, but after Walker begged him, accepted. Later, Walker was apparently killed, but later reappeared in a new identity, after plastic surgery in the new name of "Jack Daniels" wearing Rogers' "The Captain" uniform and shield as the rechristened "USAgent"[32].

Continued Career

Steve Rogers: Captain America

At one point, Cap avoided the explosion of a meth lab only to have the chemical effects of the blast react dangerously with his Super-Soldier Serum. To remove the problem, Rogers removed the serum and trained constantly to keep in peak condition. Cap discovered that the serum was not a drug per se, which would have metabolized out of his system, but in fact a virus that effected a biochemical and genetic change. This additionally explained how arch-nemesis, Red Skull, who at the time inhabited a body cloned from Rogers' cells, also had the formula in his body. Because of his altered biochemistry, Rogers' body began to deteriorate and, for a time he, wore a powered exoskeleton designed by Iron Man and Dr. Hank Pym, but was eventually placed again in suspended animation. During this time, Rogers was given a blood transfusion from the Red Skull, which cured his condition and stabilized the Super-Soldier virus in his system. Captain America returned both to crime-fighting and the Avengers.

Captain America was reunited with his WWII-era flame, the now-aged American Maquis fighter Peggy Carter. Freeing her and others from the grip of the criminal Doctor Faustus, Rogers had her hired on as communications expert at Avengers Mansion as part of the expanded domestic staff called the Avengers Ground Crew. Their romantic feelings diminished, but the two remained good friends. Another person taken on by Steve during this time was John Jameson, who acted as his pilot.

When the Avengers learned of the Kree-Shi'ar War and the danger the war efforts posed to Earth's sun, Rogers proposed to send diplomatic envoys to each superpower in an attempt to avert catastrophe known as Operation Galactic Storm. Captain America led the team bound for the Kree Empire. He had several conflicts of leadership with Iron Man, which culminated when the latter, against orders, led a team of Avengers to execute the Kree Supreme Intelligence for war crimes. His confidence in his leadership shaken, Cap offered to resign as chief executive and commanding officer of the two Avengers branches, but this was not the route the other Avengers wanted to take. Cap's old friend Hawkeye helped reinforce Cap's leadership confidence, as did the rescue by USAgent (John Walker and the Falcon of Demolition-Man from ULTIMATUM, Flag-Smasher's terrorist organization.

After returning to Earth, Cap rescued Diamondback (Rachel Leighton) from Red Skull's henchman Crossbones. Diamondback had previously, as a member of the Serpent Society, had a chance to kill Rogers in battle that she did not take. This was because she was smitten with him; the two began an on-and-off semi-romantic partnership afterwards.

Cap was part of the force raised to battle the psychic entity called Onslaught, and was one of the Avengers who seemingly gave their lives to absorb Onslaught's energy. In reality, they (the senior Avengers and the Fantastic Four) had been shunted to an alternate dimension created by Franklin Richards. After several months in this world, the heroes realized it was a construct and escaped.

During a rebuilding period with the Avengers, Captain America and the rest of the team (past and present) were duped by Morgan Le Fay into acting as her elite guard, the Queen's Vengeance. Rogers' alias in this alter-ego was "Yeoman America." He was the first Avenger to break out of Morgan's trance, and formed a resistance group that foiled the ancient sorceress' plans.

Avengers Disassembled

On a day that would become the darkest in Avengers history, the Scarlet Witch suffered a breakdown that, combined with her powers, had catastrophic consequences. Cap had recently had a strange encounter with Wanda, as well as the beginnings of romance, and was struck hard by the devastation of the team, which disbanded shortly thereafter.

In future events, Rogers moved into the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, revealed his identity to the world (although he lived in a SHIELD safe house), and resumed his off-and-on relationship with Sharon Carter.

Cap was among those heroes present at the Raft when Electro instigated a jailbreak. The next day, he spoke with Tony Stark, and convinced him to help form the New Avengers. Most of those present during the jailbreak were founding members of the team. The new SHIELD Director, Maria Hill, was opposed to their incorporation, but Rogers reminded her that he had Full Champion License—that is, he was authorized by SHIELD to assemble any team he deemed necessary for any mission he deemed necessary, and therefore did not need her permission. The New Avengers embarked on several missions under his leadership.

Winter Soldier and Civil War

Meanwhile, Cap had also been dealing with more personal matters. Having been made a special SHIELD operative, Rogers, Sharon Carter, and Nick Fury began an investigation into Aleksander Lukin and his powerful Kronas Corporation. After the apparent assassination of the Red Skull, Lukin was in possession of the Cosmic Cube, but he also had a more personal weapon: the Winter Soldier (a revived Bucky Barnes). A KGB assassin who had been occasionally let out of suspended animation to perform only the most difficult missions, the Winter Soldier encountered Sharon Carter, who believed that he was the real Bucky. Cap at first refused to believe it, but Fury presented him with solid evidence.

Winter Soldier killed Jack Monroe and caused major devastation in Philadelphia before Cap, the Falcon, and Agent Carter stormed a hidden underground base operated by Lukin. Cap and Winter Soldier dueled, and the latter showed no sign of memory. Cap used the Cosmic Cube to restore his memory; Bucky then used it himself to teleport to Camp Lehigh, where he began to cope with his past.

Months later, Cap and Sharon tracked Bucky to a small mid-western town that was actually controlled by AIM. Distracted by storming the AIM compound and battling Crossbones and Sin (Synthia Schmidt), they were unable to catch up with him.

When SHIELD suggested the Superhuman Registration Act, Special Agent Hill ordered Rogers and the Avengers to help enforce it. When he refused, Hill had her trained "Superhuman Response Unit" attacked him. During the scuffle Rogers avoided being tranquillized and managed to escape by lodging his shield in an aircraft and forcing the pilot to fly him to safety. Soon after, at the Baxter Building, the Watcher told the heroes who had gathered there about Cap's escape. He became the leader of the resistance to the registration act, fearing that the freedom of America's heroes and the safety of their families were in danger.

Adopting the alias "Brett Hendrick", a mall security guard to avoid government detection, Rogers became more and more extreme in his desire to win the Civil War. He allowed the The Punisher to join his "Secret Avengers," and worked (albeit reluctantly) with the Kingpin. Since his old friend Iron Man was leading the Pro-Registration Superhero Unit, their rivalry was especially bitter. The two attempted to meet twice during the conflict, but each time it devolved into combat. They even refused to attend the wedding of Black Panther and Storm together. Cap was nearly captured by Paladin but escaped with the aid of Shang-Chi and the Heroes for Hire. In the final battle against the Pro-Registration forces, Rogers' teammate the Vision disabled Iron Man's armor, evening the odds for Cap and allowing him to take down Stark in Times Square. However, a crowd of civilians approached in support of Stark. Realizing that his fight against the registration act was endangering the people that he was trying to protect, he surrendered to Iron Man. He then gave his followers the order to stand down.

Death of a Hero

Following his surrender, Steve Rogers was indicted on several criminal charges. It was noted SHIELD had restrained Steve with strength dampeners, while he was in custody. A successful assassination was orchestrated by the resurgent Red Skull which involved Crossbones deployed as a sniper. He fired the first shot, hitting Captain America in the back as he entered a federal courthouse to stand trial for his criminal charges. In addition, Doctor Faustus, posing as a SHIELD psychiatrist, had manipulated Sharon Carter and implanted in her mind a hypnotic suggestion that caused her to shoot Rogers, three times in the stomach and chest in the chaos that ensued. Rogers was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.

Captain America was given a state funeral, but the body in his memorial at Arlington was a fake. Immediately after his death, Rogers' body was taken to SHIELD Headquarters as the only perfect super-soldier specimen in the world. Inexplicably, his body was discovered to have withered back to its original frail state. Tony Stark, accompanied by Hank Pym, and Janet Van Dyne, returned Steve Rogers' body to the Arctic where they had found him frozen in ice. Namor also attended the small private ceremony swearing that as long as he ruled the seas, no one would disturb Captain America's rest[33].

Many people mourned him including various heroes that knew him. Others such as reformed Winter Soldier James Buchanan Barnes and Wolverine swore to avenge his death. Before the day of his assassination, Rogers prepared a package to be delivered to Stark in the event that he would not survive. It contained a photo of himself as Captain America and Bucky in World War II, and his final requests: that Stark "save" Bucky, and that the mantle of Captain America should continue. A SHIELD agent presented it to Stark confirming that it was delivered by an unknown attorney.

Thor communicated with Steve Rogers' spirit on the first anniversary of his death. Though Thor vowed to avenge him in full, Rogers declined, saying that their world was already too stained with the taint of death and violence. Thor granted Steve a minute of silence, by using his powers to cut off all the electronic media in America for exactly sixty seconds[34].

Rebirth

It was later discovered that, while his body was killed, Rogers' essence was "locked into a fixed point in space and time". Rogers' mind was being transported through time, forcing him to relive certain segments of his life such as World War II and becoming Captain America as well in various other scenes. Some changes were revealed to what was previously known (See notes below). While reliving the Kree-Skrull War, he was able to ask the Vision to record a message about his time travel condition to Mister Fantastic and Wasp in the future, which was duly relayed by the current Vision[35]. With this data, Richards concluded that Sharon was the key to bringing Steve out of time, although they were too late to stop Doctor Doom and Arnim Zola from doing just that, however the Red Skull was now in control of Steve's body[36].

Barnes and Rogers fought to drive the Red Skull from his body and succeeded in doing so. Rogers considered retirement from the role and allowed Barnes to continue operating as Captain America, thinking that there should not be two formal active Captain Americas. Rogers visited the current US President who gave "Captain America", not Steve Rogers specifically, a full pardon for his actions during the Civil War. Rogers explained that he didn't intend to resume wielding the shield, but would if asked. The President mentioned that this was fine, as he had another idea for Steve's services in the future.

Siege

With his own house in order, Rogers set about the next great task: removing Norman Osborn, current head of American national security agency H.A.M.M.E.R., from power. Rogers soon came to assist in bringing back Tony Stark, who was in a vegetative state, having diminished his intelligence to erase the Superhuman Registration database to keep Osborn from abusing it. To do so, Rogers and his associates resorted to a quite radical step in rebooting Stark's brain: channeling Thor's thunder through Rogers' shield connected to the implant on Stark's chest, a move which could very well have killed him. The process restarted Tony's heart, but for some reason his mind didn't reboot. Steve left to get Doctor Strange's help in going inside Tony's mind.

Following this, Steve was in the New Avengers hideout in New York when he learned that Osborn was laying siege to Asgard[37]. Enraged, Steve assembled the New Avengers, the Young Avengers, and Nick Fury's Secret Warriors to provide support for the Asgardians and finally bring down Osborn. Bucky gave Steve the shield, saying that they needed him leading the counterattack. Bucky told Steve that he needed the shield in the fight against the Dark Avengers. Steve took the shield but asked Bucky what he would do, to which Bucky replied "I will do what I do", holding a large gun in his hands[38]. Before they left, Edwin Jarvis gave Steve a briefcase for Tony Stark[38].

Steve Rogers was called to the White House, where the President offered to make him the new head of security of the United States. Steve agreed on the condition that he would get to do the job his way. The Super-Human Registration Act was repealed and, during a gathering at Avenger Tower, Steve appeared and told them it was the start of a new day for all of them and he needed their help[39]. Steve oversaw the incarceration of Norman Osborn at The Raft penitentiary, under his new role as Captain Steve Rogers[40].

The Erskine Legacy

Steve Rogers in the Heroic Age

As the head of Nixtin Pharmaceutics and grandson of Abraham Erskine, Jacob Erskine set out to cure cancer using the Super Soldier Serum, but was killed before he could finish.[41] When Steve attempted to find who killed Erskine, he was caught in a trap by Machinesmith and his serum was deactivated.[42] Through the help of one of Machinesmith's robots who Steve previously believed to be a woman imbued with the serum, he was able to have his serum activated once again, and together they pursued Machinesmith.[43] They eventually seemingly killed Machinesmith and recovered the serum he was attempting to auction, at the cost of the robot's life. Upon further investigation, the serum Steve recovered turns out to be completely useless, and unbeknown to him, the entire exploit was set up by Aloysius Thorndrake of the Shadow Council, who sought Rogers' blood in order to create an army of super-soldiers.[44]

Fear Itself

Steve Rogers is worthy

When Skadi freed The Serpent, he caused seven hammers to fall to Earth so that Midgard could fear him and his legions. Steve Rogers was present when each of these hammers landed and gave the order to send the Avengers to each of the crash sights. When Bucky was killed by Skadi at Washington D.C. during a blitzkrieg, Steve decided to avenge Bucky and resume the title of Captain America once more. And while Cap, Iron Man, and Thor were sent to different locations, Cap joined the Avengers in New York to stop Skadi. After the Serpent broke his shield during the fight in NY and left, he moved the fight to Oklahoma, where he used Mjolnir to defeat Skadi.

Spider-Island

Steve Rogers as Spider-King fighting Venom.

In the Spider-Island storyline, Captain America is captured by the Jackal and forcibly mutated into a giant spider mutant, whom the Jackal calls "Spider-King." [45] As Spider-King, Steve Rogers is impregnated with thousands of spider eggs in order to spread the virus that gives people spider-powers.[46] He is stopped and captured by the new heroic version of Venom, but he escapes captivity by vomiting out the now-hatched mutant spiders. Ultimately he is recaptured and put into suspended animation, while Venom disguises himself as Spider-King to infiltrate the Jackal's organization. [47]

When the cure for the Spider-Island virus was discovered, he was returned to normal and later joined Venom in his fight against the Queen, the true mastermind behind the virus. Venom stabbed her with Captain America's shield, an attack that should have killed her. Instead, she mutated into a 28-story spider monster. [48]

The two led her to Union Square, where they were joined by other heroes while Spider-Man distributed the cure to the infected New Yorkers. This weakened her enough for Kaine, Spider-Man's clone, to kill her. [49]

Cap vs. Bravo

The Vengeance of Codname: Bravo

During the funeral of Peggy Carter, Steve was attacked by an old ally he had not seen since WWII, a man called Bravo. This meant that Jimmy Jankovicz woke up from coma. In a secret sanatorium in Virginia, Rogers, Nick Fury, and Sharon Carter visit this man who is catatonic. Back in 1944 he helped the allies find enemy headquarters by entering a different dimention which he called Land of Nowhere until a spy put him in comatose state, leaving Bravo and Hydra soldiers trapped there. When Jimmy woke up, Bravo managed to return to this world. Later, Hydra agents kidnapped Jimmy and is was revealed that Codname: Bravo was behind the attack at the same time he was allied with Baron Zemo to kill Captain America.

Bravo manages to use Jimmy in a machine to open a portal to Land of Nowhere and trap Captain America, until Sharon Carter, with the help of Fury and Falcon managed to find Jimmy, and he, with his last act of will, managed to get Bravo and Steve out of Nowhere. Bravo is incarcelated but the Hydra Queen, who helped him, escaped to build a new Hydra along Baron Zemo.

Avengers: X-Sanction

Rogers, along with the rest of the Avengers were tracking down and fighting the Lethal Legion after they escaped from prison. Unnoticed by the others, Falcon was shot down by Cable. However, Steve soon noticed that Redwing was flying alone and followed the bird to where Falcon was; in a ship container inside a Weapon X Tube. Immediately Cable fought with him, and at first, Rogers had the upper hand. Eventually Cable defeated him and strapped him to a inhibitor chair, invented by Magneto, and shot Rogers with an EMP gun, knocking him unconcious, but not before revealing his desire that the Avengers not kill Hope.[50]. Eventually, Cable was brought down and Captain America was freed. As Cable was consumed by the Techno-Organic virus, Cyclops asked Captain America for permission to take Cable back to Utopia, which Captain America agreed to in exchange for the Avengers keeping all the weapons used against them[51].

Avengers Vs. X-Men

Some time after the event with Cable, a Nova Corps member crashed on Earth and managed to stutter that "it" was coming before falling into a coma. Rogers and Iron Man later found out that the "it" was the Phoenix Force, and that it was coming to earth. The heroes went to the White House to brief the President about the this threat, but not before sending a team of Avengers to try and stall/stop the Pheonix Force. During the briefing at the White House, Iron Man suddenly picked up a mysterious new source of the Phoenix Force on Earth. Knowing what had previously happened, Captain America and Iron Man stopped by the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning to consult with Wolverine, whom replied that the X-Men believe its new host is Hope Summers. With this knowledge, Captain America goes to Utopia in order to negotiate with Cyclops. He asks that Hope be turned over to him and Avengers for protective custody.

Cyclops blasts Captain America after refusing to hand over Hope.

Cyclops refuses to hand over Hope since he and the other mutants believe she is their messiah, and that the Phoenix Force will allow Hope to restore the mutant race. Cyclops blasts Steve with an optic blast, causing Steve to give the order for the Avengers to invade Utopia[52]

Last chance

The Avengers seemingly defeat the mutants of Utopia although Hope manages to flee. The surrender however turns out to be a ruse and Cyclops teleports away from Utopia with several powerful mutants.[53]

Rachel Summers gives the Avengers Hopes whereabouts on behalf of Wolverine (and unbeknownst to the Avengers gives the same information to the X-Men) but Hope has managed to scramble her signals, appearing to be in five places at once. Steve sends out several teams to the those locations, where they come into conflict with the X-Men. After arguing with Wolverine about his methods, Cap and Giant Man knock him out and throw him out of the Quinjet over Antartica.[54] After Wolverine is contacted by Hope he betrays her, and tells Steve and the Avengers where she is. The Avengers arrive on the moon to confront her and take her into custody but are greeted by the X-Men who have also arrived to claim Hope. Before a fight can start a wounded Thor falls from the sky, closely followed by the Phoenix.[55]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

The Super-Soldier Serum (SSS) metabolized and enhanced all of Rogers' bodily functions to the peak of human potential. Dr. Reinstein described this potential as being "the next step in human evolution", while still remaining completely human. The secret of the SSS formula was lost with Dr. Erskine's death[56]

Artificially Enhanced Physiology: Rogers has no superhuman powers, although as a result of the Super-Soldier serum, he was transformed from a frail young man into a "perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning. Rogers is as intelligent, strong, fast, agile, and durable as it was possible for a human being to be without being considered superhuman. Although the SSS is definite, he maintains an overall healthy lifestyle including a regular exercise regimen and a balanced diet.

Peak Human Strength: Rogers' physical strength is enhanced to the very peak of human potential. As a result, he is as physically strong as a human being can be without being classified as superhuman.[57] Captain America had been seen bench pressing 500 kg (1,200 lbs) which is consistent with his strength level, as benching is easier than military press lifting[58]. He can snap steel handcuffs and chains, and is capable of breaking through wooden walls and steel doors with a single kick.

Peak Human Speed: He can run at speeds of up to approximately 48 kilometers per hour (30 miles per hour), and has on occasion run a mile when under duress mile (1.6 km) in 73 seconds (49 mph/78 kph).).

Peak Human Stamina: Rogers' body eliminates the excessive build-up of fatigue-producing chemicals in his muscles, granting him exceptional endurance and lung capacity. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several hours a without rest and before showing any signs of fatigue.

Peak Human Agility: His agility is greater than that of an Olympic gold medalist.He can coordinate his body with balance,flexibility, and dexterity. He also has the ability to leap 50 yards out in a single bound and 20 ft into the air without a running start.

Peak Human Reflexes: Rogers' reflexes border on superhuman level. His reaction speed is 20 kph, which makes it possible for him to dodge gunfire even in point blank range from multiple gunners at the same time.

Peak Human Durability: His bones and muscles are denser and harder than normal, to the highest human potential, which makes him very durable compared to a normal human. He is durable enough to the point that if a person beats him with a thick wooden stick, the stick would eventually break and Rogers would show little discomfort. This level of durability is how he survived other forms of extensive punishment throughout his career.

Peak Human Healing: Rogers' healing speed and efficiency is at the highest limits of human potential, which means he can heal faster than most humans. The white blood cells (WBCs) and the SSS in his body are efficient enough to fight off any microbe, foreign body and others from his body keeping him healthy and immune to most if not all infections, diseases and disorders, also Rogers cannot become intoxicated by alcohol, drugs, or impurities in the air and is immune to terrestrial diseases. He is also highly resistant to hypnosis or gases that could limit his focus.

Peak Human Mental Process: His mental performance has been greatly enhanced, allowing his mind to operate in the most efficient and rapid manner possible. One manifestation of this is his tactical genius; the ability to quickly process multiple information streams (e.g., threat assessment) and rapidly respond to changing tactical situations. Rogers also possesses an eidetic memory, meaning that he never forgets anything and has perfect recall. This enables him to remember any military tactic and apply it to any situation.[59]

Peak Human Senses: Rogers' senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch are at the highest possible limits of human potential. He once said that he is able to dodge bullets because he sees faster than them.

Peak Human Aging The SSS dramatically slows Roger's aging due to extensively healthy cells. Sersi once stated because of this it is possible that he may indefinitely maintain his youth.This would presumably also include Isaiah Bradley and Josiah X, two others exposed to the Super Soldier Serum.

Abilities

Master Martial Artist: Rogers is an expert in hand-to-hand combat being very skilled in multiple martial arts.[61][62] His training first originated under combat experts Rex Applegate and William Fairbairn whose fields of expertise were European martial arts and Chinese martial arts during WW2. While the majority of the instructors' curriculums were simplified for training the Allied Forces, it is possible that they trained Rogers in the more complex techniques because his body was already developed for them and because the majority of his combat knowledge (including his gymnastic-based techniques) was already established prior to his awakening by the Avengers. As a result, Rogers is well versed in Boxing, Judo, Jujitsu, Historical Fencing and Wushu. It is also possible and likely that he studied more disciplines in the present after being discovered by the Avengers and working for S.H.I.E.L.D. but it has yet to be proven. He has utilized all martial arts techniques from physical combat to chi manipulation. Rogers is one of the finest martial artist earth has ever known.

Master Shield Fighter: His years of training and experience with his unique shield, as well as its physical properties, allow him to accomplish amazing feats with the item. Aside from bashing foes and blocking incoming attacks, he is able to throw it with nearly perfect aim. Rogers can hit multiple targets with the same throw by means of ricochet, and could even achieve a boomerang-like return effect, allowing him to strike enemies from behind or retrieve the shield without objects to ricochet from.

Master Tactician and Strategist: He is an accomplished strategist. He had been widely considered one of, if not the greatest, tacticians on the planet, both on and off the battlefield. He is able to formulate battle strategies and his brilliant tactical sense allows him to alter any strategy to fit the changing need of the situation.

Master Acrobat: His years of training and experience have made him an expert acrobat, gymnast, and aerialist.

Indomitable Will: Rogers is a very strong-willed person. He is able to overcome most forms of temptation and resist the effects of extreme pain, drugs and toxins to a great extent. Rogers accepts his own mortality, and refuses to rob any sentient creature of its freedom. During the Forever War, he destroyed the Forever Crystal, deciding it was too dangerous to exist, despite the many benefits of its power. Rogers is also capable of resisting all forms of mind control; only the strongest willed individuals have a chance of enslaving him.

Professional Sketch Artist: He has great artistic skill which he developed from childhood. He often worked as a freelance illustrator and sketch artist even loaning his skills to the NYPD for a time. Rogers enjoys drawing and does so with his free time.

Expert Marksman: Rogers can throw most projectile weaponry with great aim and is well-versed in the use of firearms, though he prefers not to use them.

Weapons Proficiency: He does not typically utilize weapons other than his shield, but in desperate situations he wields additional weapons to ensure victory. He is proficient in wielding swords, daggers, throwing knifes, staffs, sticks, tonfa, axes, maces and clubs and even firearms.

Multi-lingual: Rogers is fluent in English, German, Russian, Japanese, and some Italian. He might be lingual in other languages.

Strength level

He has been known to overhead press 800 lbs,[63] but had also bench-pressed 1,100 lbs and curled 500 lbs[64]. He is cited as having the strength of 10 men[65] and had himself once stated that he has the strength of half a platoon of fighting men (around 10).[66] He had been referenced at least twice as having preternatural strength.

Formerly: Rogers at one time was briefly endowed with true superhuman strength when his Super-Soldier Serum interacted with the poison of the Viper.

He trained a good number of his Avengers teammates in unarmed combat and his own fighting style.

He gained spider-like powers and four extra arms when he was mutated by the Jackal and turned into Spider-King.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Uniform: As Captain America he wears a water and fire retardent costume, which is made of kevlar, nomex and light weight titanium. The costume also offers a medium level of resistance to electric shocks and force impacts ie, falls from 30 mts height and The suit cannot be pierced by normal conventional sharp edged materials like sharp wood, glass, iron, copper and aluminium. The suit also gives some resistance to high temperatures. He carries a voice-operated, wireless communicator in his left ear, which has its frequencies blocked making it highly difficult to trace its call.

Utility Belt: Rogers wears a utility belt containing mission-specific equipment such as a first aid kit(containing tweezers, antiseptic gel coated band aids, bone and muscle pain reliever spray cans and antidotes for some toxins.) and others.

Time Gem: As a member of the Illuminati, Rogers has in his possession the Infinity Gem which controls time (which is slightly ironic, as the captain is misplaced in time).

Transportation

Rogers regularly uses both a high-performance motorcycle and a van. As an Avenger, he travels via Quinjet or Sky-Cycle and formerly aboard SHIELD or military vehicles while on assignment.

Weapons

Captain America's Shield: Captain America's only weapon is his shield, a concave disk 2.5 feet in diameter, weighing 12 pounds. It is made of a unique Vibranium-steel alloy that has never been duplicated. The Shield was cast by American metallurgist Dr. Myron MacLain, who was contracted by the U.S. government to create an impenetrable substance to use for tanks during World War II. During his experiments, MacLain combined Vibranium with a steel alloy he was working with and created the disc-shaped shield. MacLain was never able to duplicate the process due to his inability identify a still unknown catalyst that played a role in the metal bonding (an experiment to recreate the process resulted in the creation of Adamantium). The shield was awarded to Captain America by the government several months after the beginning of his career.

The shield has great aerodynamic properties: it is able to slice through the air with minimal wind resistance and deflection of path. Its great overall resilience, combined with its natural concentric stiffness, enables it to rebound from objects with minimal loss of angular momentum. It is virtually indestructible: it is resistant to penetration, temperature extremes, and the entire electromagnetic spectrum of radiation. The only way it can be damaged in any way is by tampering with its molecular bonding.

Formerly: a photonic shield (able to redirect kinetic energy, emit energy blasts, and morph into a staff). He also used small throwing disks, concussion bombs, grapples that morphed from spheres, a grapple-hook gun, substitute shields, firearms during wartime, and an exo-armor (enabling flight, superhuman strength, speed and protection from all types of assault and miniature exploding rockets that could be fired from the gauntlets).

During the battle against the Serpent, Captain America wielded Thors hammer Mjolnir. He returned it to Odin after the battle was finished.

Notes

Captain America was one of the characters featured in Series A of the Marvel Value Stamps issued in the 1970's.

Discover and Discuss

Footnotes

↑named in Captain America #283 via memories. This was contended as Rogers supposing to have a Revolutionary War era ancestor already living in the colonies that would become the U.S.A. versus both of his own parents were immigrants themselves from outside the U.S.A. If true, the Revolutionary War era Rogers or his direct descendant who maintained the surname of Rogers left the USA after its initial formation as an independent country which seems unlikely,

↑According to "Adventures of Captain America #1-"
#4 (Oct. 1991 - Jan. 1992) by Fabian Nicieza (a later revamp), Erskine's serum awakened the "latent power" of the individual to varying degrees. This was unlike earlier accounts where everyone would be enhanced. According to Erskine, tests were conducted prior to the patient receiving the serum to see how much inner power the patient had, and if it was worth the risk to awaken it. No matter how much latent power the patient had, the chance of survival was 1 in 4. Most texts use the universal acceptability standard of the Super Soldier Serum on everyone in canon as the reason for the specific desire to exactly recreate Erskine's process, rather than the selective applicability of this retcon. Other processes existed which were also unreliable, such as the Power Broker's process, which created a Super-human powered Captain America, John Walker.

↑His title of 'Captain' was apparently a tribute to a 'Captain Rogers' who served in the Revolutionary War.